Beyond the Black Box proposes a radical transformation of how citizens interact with digital infrastructure and cultural archives through architectural intervention at Madrid's Plaza de Colón. This project addresses a critical democratic crisis where massive digital systems—data centers consuming 613 MW of power and 665 million liters of water annually, alongside cultural archives increasingly training AI systems—remain invisible and inaccessible to the citizens they serve.

The project confronts three interconnected "black boxes" that undermine democratic participation in the digital age: Infrastructure Invisibility through data centers hidden 8-12 kilometers from Madrid's center; Archive Digitalization that transforms physical collections into abstract digital processes without public engagement; and Digital Literacy Gaps caused by the absence of civic spaces where citizens can understand and participate in algorithmic systems.

Located at Plaza de Colón—a site that has evolved from Royal Mint to National Library to public plaza—the intervention creates a new civic typology employing a cloud-fog-edge computing framework that reveals resource flows while integrating technical functions with public programs. Three programmatic axes converge at a central data center: the Digital Infrastructure Axis features transparent server rooms that transform technical systems into educational features; the Digital Archive Axis connects to Spain's National Library through visible digitization labs; and the Digital Literacy Axis provides hands-on workshops and AI-integrated study spaces.

This hybrid architecture materializes the shift from static containers to dynamic circuits in memory practices, establishing a new civic institution where cultural heritage is continuously activated through technological engagement and democratic participation. The project demonstrates that architecture can transform traditionally separate systems—hidden data centers and digitizing archives—into integrated civic platforms that serve both knowledge preservation and democratic resilience, creating spaces where citizens become active participants in their digital future rather than passive consumers.